Actually, if you think about it, it was Monica who was being 100% negative, and was also in denial about it. I think Tina said what she did at first to rip away the “denial band-aids” they had on, so she could address their hangups in a way that would actually be helpful afterwards.

Hmmm, interesting tactics Tina — first hit ’em with the stick, then give ’em a carrot and shove ’em out the door while they’re still confused as hell. Much harder for them to simply wall themselves off in denial from the truths that they both know.

how does “that was your auras doing the talking” constitute this being a 180? it would seem that in the previous strip she was interpreting what their auras were telling her.. and now she’s saying what SHE (they?) feels… and I love Monica & Shelly’s “zuh?!” expressions.

Okay, Tina, the collective, actually likes Monica’s new do. That leads to the question “how much do the demons affect one’s aura”? How much of what she read from Monica’s was the demon’s influence, especially Doubt?

I think the demons are fairly social, but Monica’s and Jin’s demons went beyond what was normal. Bud put Monica’s Doubt inside Jin. That created a bridge the demons could use to travel between hosts and read the other host’s mind.

I suspect that Tina, basically being a collection of demons, is aware of the same things that a person’s personal demons see. She was able to interact with other demons. We saw her doing that at the Cerberus Club. She obviously knew what the demons were saying to each other. Maybe she is allowed to use the information about people she gets from other demons, as long as it isn’t used against the other person. Maybe due to her special status, she can communicate with other demons better than they usually can communicate with each other. That could, in part, have to do with Tina 1.0, along with Monica and Shelly, naturally being what Jin’s demon called “port holes” for the demon world.

I’m not sure what to make of Tina’s “closer link” comment. Does it mean Tina is feeling Monica’s and Shelly’s auras more intensely or that she is aware of more detail than with other people? My guess is that it’s both.

Ah, interesting, very interesting. Maybe this is what’s meant by being “conflicted.” My mind believes/feels _this_, but my aura believes/feels _that_… Mental (logical) vs. emotional? I guess, in some way, we truly could talk out of both sides of our mouths, and still, in some sort of dualistic way, make sense – and be consistent…

Confused now … how does Tina’s “that hairstyle looks like crap and doesn’t suit you at all” equate with “you look cute as a ladybug?” The first statement is hurtful and the second one almost directly contradicts the first. And the whole “that was your auras doing the talking” bit? Hmmm … maybe confused is too weak a word to describe what i’m feeling …

A nice bean, thickly coated with good chocolate, ain’t cheap. Coffee People (now-gone, alas) started the custom in this neck of the woods; if you knew the barista, you usually got a handful, but as a freebie with every drink, it wasn’t anyuthing to sneeze at.

When I was working as a help desk operator the company had a free automatic espresso machine, that I visited about 4 times a shift and filled my quart coffee mug. Some days I didn’t need my headlight on my bike on the way home, I had eyelights kinda like M and the GG. Did you know caffeine improves your night vision?

(Also, beginning at 1:35 you can hear my long-time acquaintance Fred LeBlanc and Cowboy Mouth doing “This Much Fun” – which sadly does *not* appear in the film {at least the part i was able to watch before i gave up}.)

Any one remember Jolt cola? I used to work in a 1 hour photo lab. The temperature required for color negatives & prints makes it very hot & humid. So I was finishing my second can & yawning while reaching for another can and my co-worker ask me how many have I drunk so far. She tells me she once had less than half a can at 7:pm one night and was wired and could get to sleep till 2:am! I must be caffeine resistant or something.

Well, even if Monica and Shelly still look a little less than thrilled, I’m relieved to see Tina clarify things a bit. I am definitely looking forward to what they have to say about it tomorrow though. 🙂

I just saw this quote: “True friends stab you in the front. – Oscar Wilde.” It figures it would be a day late.

I’m confused about the disconnect between their auras and their body language. I don’t think we’ve seen a disconnect like that before. Perhaps what they had walled off in their subconscious was screaming louder to Tina than what wasn’t.

I think I remember that we have seen a disconnect in auras and someone’s feelings before. Monica came into the shop, and Tina was impressed by how her aura was shining brightly and she interpreted that to mean all was going well on the Calendar Machine project, but Monica was feeling uncertain and lost about it at the time.

OK, you got me curious, so I found it. At least, that’s what I think you were talking about.

That one is a little strange and I’m not sure how much I trust what Tina is saying there. Monica’s Doubt and her other personal demons were part of the conspiracy, and I think Tina was, too. Monica’s demons were being quiet, I think, to make it easier to blindside Monica and Jin’s demons in the temple. I think that Tina was influenced by the fake quietness of Monica’s demons, or perhaps she was playing along. Beyond that, there is a strange disconnect between Tina’s positive words and the spookiness of the art. Also there is irony in the “if it kills you” phrase. I see what you were talking about, but the other stuff going on makes it seem like that wasn’t normal.

So, the first thing Tina said to them was actually “reading” what Monica and Shelly’s auras were screaming at her. The auras were so powerful because she is now friends with them and this makes them easier to read. So what she said today is what the Tina collective actually believes, Monica is as “…cute as a ladybug.” Tina was being a mirror to Shelly and Monica’s fears. Neat!

The committee only disagrees with what the girls’ auras were saying. If there were disagreements in the committee, I imagine we’d see some lovely gray text pop up when one demon spoke out of turn to voice its differing opinion.

…has email always been a required field…? I don’t recall that happening to me before…

Anyway, as I just typed a minute ago, Nudge is the only Tina-demon we’ve seen speaking with grey text. We’ve seen a bunch of them all speaking in a single panel before and they all had pretty much the same text. That said, though, their text was more varied a few days later when several of them were thinking (or possibly conversing silently?) while the collective as a whole was also speaking as Tina.

So, they come in, and they are broadcasting so much happy-buzzy, Tina’s reaction was off the charts, and basically describes the glows (Tina-Vision{tm} would probably show one hell of a psychic conglomeration of Extraordinary Magnitude) before the filters could react.

BTW, Moni isn’t cute as a ladybug, she’s as cute as a (crimson) mantis! And Shelly? Like any good Comanche, she throws herself into all aspects of life, love, and stuff that would kill normal people.

I was pretty certain it was their own insecurities talking through their auras, and not necessarily Tina’s opinion that we saw the other day…but I wonder if their favorite coffee drinks are going to compensate for having their respective bubbles burst…

This reminds me of a comment made in “Good Omens” about Death, comparing him to having a tax collector on your softball team. It’s good to have him on your side but he’s never really ‘one of the guys’. That’s Tina. It’s good to have he on your side but she’ll never be one of the girls.

anyone else think that SHELLY might need to get a haircut? she’s looking a bit sloppy there with her hair all messed up! Monica looks like a soccer-mom with that hairdo, but Shelly is looking like someone really DID cut her hair with a lawn mower.